


Passive Ignition

by MintyExhale



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, M/M, No Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-06
Updated: 2013-10-04
Packaged: 2017-12-25 18:40:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/956414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MintyExhale/pseuds/MintyExhale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A temperamental part-timer meets an irritable new colleague.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Strange Fellow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kekneki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kekneki/gifts).



“That new guy sure is something, hmm?”

“Don’t even get me started, Chiaki,” Hinata sighed tiredly. He rubbed the back of his neck irritably.

“I probably shouldn’t remind you that you share a shift with him later this week, huh?” Chiaki chuckled to herself.

Hinata groaned. “Now you did.”

His close colleague looked apologetically to Hinata.

Hinata and Chiaki were close friends who decided to work part-time at a certain office building downtown. Several of their other friends decided to join the duo while the rest of them scattered to do other odd-end jobs.

A new employee had recently joined the office building they were all working at. The group barely knew the fellow but they’ve heard many rumors of a certain Nagito Komaeda.

The strange young man often talked to pigeons quietly in a gentle voice as if they were people and gave them half his lunch often in the local park. He often tried to persuade strangers on the street to listen to his bouts of his ridiculous-sounding ‘hope-fulfilling’ inspirational mini-speeches. Some people have said he could be heard mumbling in the darkest stall of the men’s bathroom at times. Former employees have told others that Komaeda often degraded himself to a painful level and saying that his coworkers were definitely at a ‘higher’ level of sorts than him.

Overall, no one in Hinata’s group of friends actually _met_ the strange man, or even desired to. Nagito Komaeda was what you’d call an infamous sort of person, in a not-so-great way of recognition.

And having him suddenly start working at _this_ particular office of all places, was just downright outrageous and Hinata cursed Lady Fate for such upbringings.

Although at first, Hinata didn’t really mind the young man.  He seemed decent and friendly at first, and Hinata almost had the notion of befriending him, ready to cast away the somewhat cold rumors spread about this man.

Weeks later, he’d bite his tongue.

He’d experience Komaeda’s infuriating behavior firsthand at the break room.

~

Hinata was taking a short five minute break in the coffee room in the right hall. The nineteen-soon-to-be-twenty-year old hastily brought himself the mug he periodically used with the cute, pixelated heart printed on its front. It was a birthday present from Chiaki when he turned seventeen.

He heard soft steps enter the break room and turned to expect either Peko or maybe even Chiaki herself. It was neither of them.

It was Komaeda who came into the room and he greeted Hinata with an amiable smile. 

“Good afternoon, Hinata,” he said.

“Good afternoon,” Hinata responded, giving a nod.

Komaeda glanced over where Hinata stood, preparing his coffee.

“I’m assuming you’re making coffee for yourself, yes?” he asked.

“Mmhmm,” Hinata answered, not paying attention. He was more focused on waiting for his coffee grounds to settle in his mix.

“Shall I prepare some for you?” Komaeda asked.

Hinata swung his face towards Komaeda. “What?”

“Should I-“ he started again.

“No, no, I know what you said, can’t you see,” Hinata brought his arm to point at his mug and the coffee making machine. “That I’m making some myself?”

“I can serve it to you,” Komaeda simply replied.

“No, I’m good,” Hinata replied quickly.

“Please,” Komaeda said, almost pleadingly. “I want to help.”

“I _said,_ I’m _good,_ ” Hinata answered shortly. His voice almost came out in an irritated hiss.

“Are you sure?” Komaeda asked.

“I’m totally positive,” Hinata said matter-of-factly.

The coffee machine whistled shrilly in response.

“Wha-?! Oh, _damn it!”_ Hinata cried. He quickly poured in his coffee. “It’s _burnt_!”

“I’m sorry, it was my fault for talking so much with you, I can make you another round if you’d like?” Komaeda started again, giving him that sick, pleading look.

Hinata gritted his teeth. “I’m fine.”

“No, no, I insist! It’s my fault and I need to make up for it, it’s because of low-ranking people like me that mess up things for-“ Komaeda ran his words quickly from his mouth.

Hinata silently trudged off from the break room loudly.

Komaeda stood silently in the stillness of the break room. Only the sound of the whistling coffee machine echoed in the walls of the lounge.

~

“What’s _up_ with that guy, anyway?” Souda said, exasperatedly. He twirled his curly straw in his can of Sprite. “I mean, like, you can tell, he’s totally whacko.”

They were all sitting at their usual spots in the office lunchroom.

Hinata didn’t speak; but shoved another spoonful of meatloaf in his mouth.

Chiaki looked at him worriedly.

Peko nodded as she took another piece of sushi from her lunchbox.

“That guy is really messed up, I wonder how long he’ll last here,” Kuzuryuu said brandishing his fork in the air for emphasis. “Total weirdo, I tell ya, he’s hella irritatin’ that Komaeda guy.”

Gundam grumbled under his breath as he secretly fed his hamsters some sunflower seeds he took from the cafeteria. You couldn’t even see his hamsters as they were all snuggled cozily beneath his muffler.

“Let’s try not to judge others too much, he hasn’t really done any harm to any of us as of yet,” Sonia piped up, trying to soothe the tensions in the air.

“Well, if Sonia says it, I guess we can try,” Souda agreed.

All was quiet for a few moments.

“I agree, we should maybe try making friends with him, he could possibly be a great addition to our group,” Chiaki said when the silence began to linger.

Hinata huffed under his breath. “Doubt it.”

Chiaki looked at Hinata discreetly, but said nothing.

~

Hinata was out delivering papers as he bumped into Komaeda along the way.

“Oh, sorry, my bad,” Hinata said.

“It wasn’t your fault, I was in the way,” Komaeda replied.

Hinata felt a vein begin to pulsate in his neck.

“Can you move, please? I gotta get going,” Hinata asked.

“May I help you with those?” Komaeda pointed to the files Hinata was carrying at the time.

Hinata shook his head. “Nah, I’m good.”

Komaeda’s head drooped slightly. “I see.”

“Move it,” Hinata said, annoyed.

“Can’t I convince you to give me at least, one-third of your files?” Komaeda asked. “To repay for bumping into silly, lowly me, of course.”

Hinata had heard so many negative retorts from the man it was all getting really frustrating and annoying to hear.

“God, please, _please_ stop talking about yourself like that, it’s driving me crazy,” Hinata called.

“What can I say? I can’t hide away from the truth you all are definitely more superior than me in more ways than one,” Komaeda replied nonchalantly.

Hinata felt his face begin to heat from his annoyance and he stomped away, pushing Komaeda aside.

“If you’re just gonna spew more of this ‘lowly’ crap, I might as well leave. I got files to deliver.”

Komaeda stood, watching Hinata leave. His face flushed _,_ he gingerly touched a strand of his stringy pale hair and walked away.

Chiaki watched from a distance, with a blank expression, as she too left, with a stack of papers piled in her arms.


	2. Slowly But Surely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sort of a filler chapter. I hope you enjoy it anyways!

The crisp noon sunlight sharply entered from the lazy openings of Hinata’s office drapes. Hinata’s left arm temporarily covered his eyes from the blinding rays and Hinata squinted and blinked his eyes to get used to the mid spring light.

The young man let out a tired yawn and continued working on the many sheets laying before him.

He tapped his pen against his lip and thought of the recent happenings that happened only just a few days before.

Souda has stopped by a few days ago and knocked pleasantly. Hinata had thought he had some important business with him so he hastily straightened up his desk and let him inside.

“Have ya noticed recently?” was what he said at first.

“Notice what?” Hinata inquired.

Souda looked bemused for a second. Just for a second, though.

“You really don’t see it?” he said again.

“What are you even talking about? You don’t make sense,” Hinata shook his head, feeling very puzzled.

“Mn, it’s no big deal, see ya at lunch, pal,” Souda said before closing the door loudly.

Hinata had a hard time concentrating his work before break-time hit, questions lingering in his head on what Souda was talking about.

When Hinata questioned Souda at break, Souda brushed it off; saying it was nothing important.

Hinata felt even more confused as he ate his lunch silently, contemplating choices in his head.

His colleagues however seemed not to question Souda, which made Hinata even more suspicious. He let it go though, no use getting fussed over something small.

The workload recently had upgraded itself to Impossible Mode.

Occasionally the company they worked for got many orders requested and sent in and this greatly increases the workload and makes all the people working at the office even busier than usual.

Hinata felt himself feel more exhausted than usual as of late. There were several occasions where he caught himself almost falling asleep at his desk or in the lounge taking a break.

Sonia looked at him carefully before handing him the files he was supposed to scan. “You look really tired, Hinata. You should probably take a short rest, and perhaps have a little snack, too.”

Hinata rubbed his eyes and accepted the pamphlets. “Thanks, I really should.” He exited Sonia’s office wobbling a little.

Hinata usually opted toward a certain lounge in the office. It had all his favorite office snacks and drink concoctions with the most comfiest sofas and pillows to boot. He eagerly headed toward the room, swinging the files in his arm. But some of his other coworkers seemed to have the same idea that day as well, and he heard soft chattering as he entered the room. It would be weird to take a nap in a room full of people he wasn’t really familiar with so Hinata fixed himself some hot cocoa and left.

Hinata sighed into his cup as he trudged to a space he could rest by himself peacefully. He passed by the main hallway that connected to the front of the ground level of the office. There was a small lounge there with stacks of magazines to entertain guests.

Hinata didn’t really care much at this point. He sunk into the nearest creamy lemon-colored seat and immediately zonked out from exhaustion.

~

Hinata could feel the sofa he was sleeping on shift just so and he started up. He snorted loudly as he rose his upper body from the pillow he was hugging in his sleep. He could feel a line of drool fall from his mouth onto his pants and onto the pillow he was resting on.

“Shit, _shit!”_ Hinata thought frantically. He scrambled to wipe the drool off mouth with a scrape of his elbow. “ _I’m so embarrassed!!”_

He groggily wiped his eyes and straightened himself together with the dignity he had left. He turned to greet the person who was sitting next to him.

Hinata’s heart stopped. (And not in a particularly good way, either. His face was turning hot from embarrassment.)

The young man was sitting a comfortable distance from him and was reading a magazine about the most fashionable home renovations that are in trend. He was humming softly to himself and thumping his right leg rhythmically with his little tune. His eyes eagerly scanned the page he was reading; he still hadn’t noticed Hinata had woken up yet.

It must’ve have been the fact that Hinata was still half-asleep or he was just turning crazy because in this angle, Komaeda almost, _almost_ looked…what was the word? Enchanting? Enrapturing? Wait, what was he thinking! This was _Komaeda_ of all people!

Hinata clapped his cheeks with the palms of his hands. _“Get yourself together, man!”_

Komaeda turned to where the sound of slapping cheeks was being made. “Oh, hi, Hinata! You’re finally awake!”

“Ko-Komaeda…” Hinata stuttered. _God,_ he sounded so stupid. Of course his voice would crack at the end of saying that.

Komaeda gave off one of his annoying smiles again. He pointed to the empty hallway. “Yeah, well, your one friend said they knew you had a shift in about half an hour now, so she asked me to stay here to wake you if you still were sleeping.”

He smiled again. “But I’m glad you woke up on your own!”

 _“That’s ‘cause you were shifting your stupid ass around, I could’ve slept a little more!”_ But Hinata just shook his head silently and asked, “What time is it now?”

Komaeda looked at the clock placed at the opposite set of sofas across from them. “It’s…hmm…like about 4:30 PM now.”

Hinata groaned. “I’m gonna be late for that meeting now.”

Hinata pulled himself up reluctantly and wiped his pants off from the imaginary dust that gathered while he slept.

“Good luck!” Komaeda chirped cheerily.

Hinata looked at the man, bemused. Then he shook his head and silently left the lounge room.

~

“Yo, you’ve seen how Komaeda’s always tryin’ to be around Hinata, right?” Kuzuryuu called from his chair.

“Mmhmm,” Peko agreed absently, typing on her computer.

“He’s like, what? Yeah, like a puppy trailing its owner with those heartmeltin’ goo-goo eyes, all ready to do whatever they’re asked of and to please.”

“Hmm,” Peko mused, tapping her lip with her manicured nail. A small smile crept its way on her lips. “Interesting.”

Kuzuryuu turned back to his desk and began slowly typing up spreadsheets. “You say somethin’, Peko?”

Peko chuckled quietly to herself. “Nothing, Kuzuryuu.”


	3. Emergency Take-Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure what to say about this chapter, but I hope you all enjoy it all the same.

Hinata would definitely not take any part-time jobs at all if he had the choice but he sure as wouldn’t hell give his parents the burden to pay his college loans. That’s his main reason for taking on a couple of part-time jobs at a time. Another reason was that it gave him a sense of responsibility and freedom to make his own money and spend it as he pleased.

He was currently sitting belly-down with his roommate in their shared two-room dorm. They were talking about the current happenings in their lives. The two were rather close and usually shared what was on their minds with one another.

“So how are things with you?” Hinata asked.

His roommate, Makoto Naegi, responded, nodding, “Mm, everything’s going pretty well lately!”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Although I have some pretty odd classmates here and there, but other than that, everything seems just the same like last year.”

“Oh?”

“There’s this quiet girl in one of my classes who seems to like to read a lot, I tried saying hi but she freaked out and did a double-take, whisper-yelled at me and left,” Naegi lowered his head sheepishly and folded his hands together. “I don’t think I gave the best first impression to her. She probably doesn’t like me now.”

“I’m sure if you talk to her a few times, you guys can become good friends in no time,” Hinata answered.

“Yeah, I’ll try that,” Naegi agreed.

Hinata leaned over close, a grin playing mischievously on his lips.

“Sooo, Naegs…”

“Yeah?”

“Got anyone you're interested in currently?”

“What…?!” Naegi croaked, face turning pink.

“C’mon, it’s no big deal, man, I promise I won’t tell anyone,” Hinata said casually, waving his arm lazily.

“Actually I don’t really have anyone I’m really interested right now,” Naegi answered, fidgeting his fingers.

“Now don’t pull the lies on me now, there’s gotta be someone you might like, even just a little bit,” Hinata chuckled.

“No, I’m telling the truth!” Naegi protested.

“Besides, doing a one-eighty here but, I’m pretty sure no one likes me either,” Naegi added.

Hinata rolled his eyes. He knew _someone_ definitely had the hots for one Makoto Naegi, alright.

“God, you’re so dense, there’s someone,” Hinata scoffed.

“Who?” Naegi’s eyes lit up like diamonds.

“Isn’t it obvious? You know that one girl named Kirigiri in our psychology class?”

“ _Her?”_ Naegi’s eyes widened. He lowered his head and Hinata could see a shy smile on his face, and his cheeks getting redder. “Really?”

“I’m sure of it,” Hinata said with finality. “I could tell she was dropping so many hints for you to notice.”

“Really…? I never really noticed,” Naegi said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

Hinata sighed exasperatedly, he could tell Kirigiri was going to have to up her hints a whole lot; this guy was nearly impossible.

“And you Hinata? Do you have someone you like?” Naegi asked.

Hinata felt his throat constrict. Suddenly the whole room felt very hot.

“Not at the moment,” Hinata replied quickly.

“Oh, I see, I’m sure you’ll find someone soon enough, you’re a really likable guy, Hinata,” Naegi said warmly, smiling at his friend/roommate. He didn’t push other than that.

“But…”

“Hmm?”

“There’s someone at the place I work at that totally drives me off the edge.”

“Really? They sound pretty troublesome,” Naegi commented.

“Yeah, he really is,” Hinata added.

They stayed silent for a bit. Naegi had a way of knowing if someone needed some time alone and hopped off his bed and said, “I’m going for a walk, cheer up, ok,  Hinata?”

That smile of his again. It sort of reminded him of Komaeda’s in a way.

“If you need anything, call me, alright?”

Hinata broke from his pondering and nodded quickly. “Ah-yeah!”

“See you soon, Hinata.”

“You, too, Naegi.”

When the door closed quietly, Hinata threw himself down on his bed and clamped his pillow around his face. _He couldn’t believe he just compared Naegi’s comforting smile to Komaeda’s!_

Now that he thought about it, that irritating guy’s been on his mind a lot lately. Hinata really didn’t want to think about him of all people on his day off from both school and work.

He lifted himself from his bed and walked toward the open window sill with the small chair beneath it. He sat himself on the chair and stared out of the city scenery outside. The sky was the color of pale cherry blossoms, sprinkled with puffy, tiny clouds shaped like marshmallows. Below, cars sped on the road so fast they looked like rushed paint streaks on a canvas. People everywhere walked or ran quickly on the wide sidewalk near the bustling shops and restaurants. It was like any ordinary day and that’s the way Hinata liked it. He sighed contently and rested his head near the little cactus plant Naegi bought from a gift shop once and watched the world outside bustle and hustle in its natural state.

Hinata looked out absently just a bit more and lowered his eyes droopily. He felt his cheeks turn warm and he laid his head tiredly on his arms. He wondered why his face was feeling especially hot. Maybe he needed to take care of himself better and worry less, Hinata thought. He fell asleep to the sound of car tires smoothly making their way down the highway and the soft whisper of an early summer breeze curling by his ear.

~

Naegi returned from his long walk with a bag of groceries. He found Hinata fast asleep on the windowsill. He carefully put away the groceries and put a thin quilt blanket over his roommate’s shoulders and quietly left the room to go borrow some books for next semester.

~

Hinata woke up stiff-necked and felt something warm around his back. He pulled the quilt to his face and looked outside. The sky was a rich navy blue painted with the silvery outlines of stars. Neon lights reflected against the buildings outside.

Hinata yawned loudly and smacked his lips as he walked around draped in the quilt still. He spotted Naegi by his desk, studying.

Naegi turned. “Oh, you’re finally awake! You hungry yet?”

“Not really…maybe I’ll have a snack later,” Hinata replied.

“What are you doing anyway?”

“I have a lot of homework so I thought I’d do some right now, and study a little bit too.”

“Maybe you should take a break, looks like you were going at it for a bit.”

“Yeah, after I finish just a few more problems.”

“Mmkay.”

The two of them ate some snacks later and got ready for bed and retired for the night.

~

A letter arrived at the office Hinata and a few of his friends worked at.

“Oh, it’s from Ibuki!” Hinata exclaimed.

Ibuki Mioda, a popular and famous death metal singer hit it big at a local concert she held at a summer festival a long time ago. Now she’s currently taking a world tour and sharing her wild style of singing. She is also a close friend of Hinata and his crew.

The letter she sent to her friends were all unreleased samples of new songs she was going to bring to the public in the near future.

 _‘Greetings, friends!~ Hope you all enjoy this snazztacular mini album I’ll release in August 20XX! Take care, my dear buds, I’ll be visiting you all sometime this week! I am taking a break so let’s all hang out and ROCK_ ☆OUT together, then!  Peace!

XOXO

Ibu-Ibuki ♥’

“Same old Ibuki,” Hinata smiled.

“It’s going to be so exciting to be able to see her again! Who knows how long it’s been!” Sonia piped excitedly.

“Like about, two years almost, yeah?” Kuzuryuu guessed.

“Yes, it’s been about two years!” Sonia agreed.

“So, she’s gonna come by here sometime this week? Wicked, man!” Souda cried.

“When is she coming?” Peko asked.

Hinata looked over the letter again. “Doesn’t say any specific date besides sometime this week.”

Peko shook her head. “Hmm, that’s too bad, then.”

As if on cue, someone burst into the office building with such gusto everyone in the crew knew only one person who would do that at a work place.

“Yoo hoo!~ Ibuki’s back and ready to party!” Ibuki strummed an imaginary guitar and gathered all her friends in a tight bear hug. “Ibuki’s missed you so much from the last time we’ve met! It’s been so long!”

“I-Ibuki…you’re strangling us…” Hinata choked out.

“Sorry, sorry! My bad!” Ibuki stepped aside and gave a glance at all her friends. “So what’s the scoop? I’m sure I missed a bunch, right?”

“You didn’t miss much to be honest,” Sonia assured her.

Ibuki nodded quickly. “Well, that’s good to hear! Ibuki certainly hates being behind on the news! Especially news about what’s up with her friends!”

It was a slow day at the office they were working at, so everyone sat comfortably on the lobby sofas and caught up with each other.

“It’s been going so well! I can’t believe I’m already releasing my third album!” Ibuki cried excitedly.

“Congratulations, I can’t wait to hear it,” Peko said, smiling.

“I hope you all take the time to listen to it when it releases! It’ll make me very happy!” Ibuki clasped her hands giddily.

“What are our manners! We didn’t even ask if you were thirsty or hungry, Ibuki. Would you like something to eat or drink?” Sonia asked.

“Yes, please! Ibuki is parched like the baking sun of the Sahara Desert! Some iced tea would be nice, thank you!” Ibuki called as Sonia left the group.

“I could always just get it myself! No need to trouble yourself,” Ibuki said as she trailed after Sonia.

“No, no, the pleasure is all mine,” Sonia said assuredly.

“I can help get the snacks if you guys want!” Souda chimed in.

“That’d really help, thank you, Souda!”

On a twenty mile radius of this event, Komaeda was busying himself for the next set of office work he was supposed to work on for the day. Lately, the poor young man was balancing his part-time job with his college classes. Suddenly, as fate would have it, his professors were piling many assignments and essays for him to finish by two weeks’ time. His superiors at his job suddenly wanted him to complete all these applications for the orders that will be shipping in this week. After many all-nighters and espresso shots later, Komaeda’s health was taking its toll.

But by heart Komaeda was the worst kind of workaholic and he insisted upon himself to take the burden of all this work upon his shoulders. He even refused help from his classmates and colleagues at both work and school.

He was printing out papers for a colleague who asked him to do a favor. His eyes felt as heavy as concrete blocks and his hands shook as he took the papers from the printing machine. He silently told himself to keep going and by the next break he’d go and take a quick breather on his office chair.

He hobbled toward the main lobby, aiming to take the elevator upstairs to the fourth floor. Suddenly, the world seemed to shake and blur; and the last he saw was his face meeting the argyle pattern of the rug and the papers flying and scattering from his hands till everything went black.

**_THUMP!_ **

Everyone turned to see what the loud noise was.

Kuzuryuu sprang from his seat. Peko ran right toward the direction where the sound occurred. Hinata glanced over from the side of his seat, alarmed.

“Someone collapsed!” Kuzuryuu cried.

“Who?!” Hinata called.

“It’s Komaeda!”

Gundam immediately ran for the phone on the front desk.

“What’s going on?!” Sonia yelled, entering the lobby with drinks and snacks.

“Komaeda fainted! Gundam’s calling the ambulance!” 

Ibuki dropped her bottles of water and ran over to Komaeda’s still body. “Ibuki still can feel a pulse from him, but he looks extremely tired, can you see his eyes? Look at those major bags!”

Sure enough, everyone could see the alarming deepness of Komaeda’s bags.

Gundam came back soon enough and said, “The ambulance should be arriving any minute now.”  

A single nurse ran into the office and brought a large med-kit with her. “What seems to be the problem?!”

“One of our friends had collapsed in this hallway! We’re not sure why, but please help!” Hinata said quickly.

The young nurse called for a stretcher to be brought in and she and two other medical specialists gently brought Komaeda onto the stretcher and began to quickly and carefully carry him away.

“We’re sorry for any interruptions,” the nurse said solemnly, and bowed her head. “We’ll take him to the hospital right now as quickly as we can and treat him.”

Ibuki whooped and cried, “Now **_that’s_** our Mikan!”

Mikan smiled shyly and waved to her friends as she climbed back into the ambulance vehicle.

Mikan Tsumiki became one of the best nurses in the city after graduating from med school in as short in four years. She was also top of the class in her final year. Shy and rather degrades herself at times, despite her shortcomings is a very efficient nurse and does things in a quick and professional manner. Because of her busy work schedule, she doesn’t have much time to meet and catch up with her friends. It’s her only regret when she went into the medical field she had said many, many times before in the past. She cares very much for her friends and anytime she can get a free day is spent catching up with everyone.

Souda looked worriedly to the side. “Ya think the guy’s gonna be ok? He looked like he was in pretty bad shape when we looked over him.”

“I hope he’ll be fine,” Sonia said quietly, clasping her hands worriedly.

~

_“Say, Komaeda, what do you want to be when you grow up?”_

_A kind smile from a face unseen._

_Komaeda smiled easily and looked up at the lady before him. “That’s easy! I want to travel the world and make people happy!”_

_The lady ruffled the little boy’s hair and her laugh sounded off like tiny little bells blowing in a breeze._

_“That’s a lovely dream to have, sweetie.”_

_“You think so, Mommy? Isn’t it great?” Komaeda buried his face in the lady’s chest happily._

_The lady breathed in the scent of her son; the smell of sundried laundry and fresh clover._

_“The thing that makes me most happy in the whole wide world is making people smile and laugh! Every time I see someone smile or laugh, it makes my heart feel so fluffy and warm!”_

_The duo clasped in each other’s warm embrace as marshmallow clouds floated past their house._

_The laundry swayed lazily in the breeze, seeming to wave their folds at the two busybodies._


	4. Kisses from Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just a nice, light chapter and I tried my best to add fluff elements into it. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for reading!

It’s been a few days. Hinata’s mind felt numb. It was hard to think. Something inside him seemed to have cracked and it felt like the wound would never recover. Everyone began making preparations on bringing a get-well gift to Komaeda. Everyone planned to visit him on their next free day. Hinata had no idea what sort of present he should bring; he had absolutely no idea on what sort of things Komaeda liked.

Sonia looked sheepishly at Hinata by the side. “I’m sorry, Hinata, but it seemed we all had the same ideas of bringing food-related gifts to Mr. Komaeda. Could you perhaps buy him a bouquet of flowers if you’re going out anytime soon, please?”

Hinata looked over to see the gifts stationed near a spare table in the main office room. Various jams, pastries, cards, and other little trinkets littered the tabletop.

“I’ll get something when I go out later,” Hinata promised.

Sonia smiled earnestly and nodded. “Thank you.”

Hinata hit downtown as he finished his classes for the day. He walked street after street looking for a flower shop. Finally, he spotted a colorful, small flower shop at the last corner of one street. The little shop was called ‘Fenrir Gardens’.

A little bell tinkled as Hinata entered the store. “Welcome,” A soft voice called from the front desk. A young lady with freckles dusted upon her nose and short, dark hair smiled amiably toward Hinata. “Take your time and look around, we’ve got a wide selection of the finest flora.”

Hinata nodded silently and looked around the shop. He vaguely knew there was something called ‘the language of flowers’ where each flower had a special meaning tied to its name. Hinata knew nothing of the language of flowers and didn’t want to accidentally send something ominous to someone at a hospital, so he strode back to the front desk and asked the lady to select a suitable bouquet.

“What sort of bouquet are you looking for in particular?” she asked.

“Is there any suitable bouquets to send to someone who’s currently unwell?” Hinata said.

“Hmm, there were a lot of customers today who seemed to request many sick-related bouquets, I think our supply is low at the moment,” the lady replied.

“Oh, I see,” Hinata answered, feeling a bit deflated.

“Oh! But there are some good combinations of flowers you could give to someone who is currently unwell at the random bundle section of our store!” the lady clapped her hands and beckoned Hinata to follow her.

She carefully selected three different types of flowers and bundled them skillfully in pretty wrap and tied it with a lavender ribbon.

“Here you are, sir,” she said, handing the bouquet over.

“Er, thank you very much,” Hinata replied awkwardly, taking the bouquet into his hands hesitantly.

They went back to the front desk and the lady racked up the charge. “That’ll be six dollars and eighty cents, please.”

Hinata handed over the money and the lady carefully put the pretty bouquet into Hinata’s hands again.

“Thank you…” Hinata looked quickly at the name tag on the lady’s shirt. It read ‘Mukuro Ikusaba’ in bold print on the tag. “Thank you so much again, Miss Ikusaba.”

Mukuro smiled warmly. “It was a pleasure, sir.”

She waved lightly to Hinata as he made his way out of the flower shop. She looked really young, could she be around his age? Hinata silently wondered if she went to his college. She looked oddly familiar somehow.

Mukuro Ikusaba had worked for a military organization called Fenrir for the longest time. After taking her leave from the infamous work-camp, she was left stranded and homeless in one of the most dangerous parts of the city. But with hope, she found her way and began her schooling again and earned quite a few scholarships that paid off her student loans and let her join a fantastic college as well. She currently studies at a city college that focuses on military history and tactics and works part-time at one of Fenrir’s catering companies.

~

The whole gang soon left to go to the hospital as soon as Hinata returned. Ibuki couldn't make it since she had a last minute-planned meeting with some supervisors at her music studio but said she would definitely visit Komaeda sometime during the week. She sent Komaeda some of her CDs and little strawberry tarts as her get-well gift. Now Hinata sat, fidgeting nervously, as he twisted the bouquet around his fingers. To be honest, he was stalling time. He watched as he saw, one by one, his friends make their visit with Komaeda and talk with him and give him their respective gifts. He grasped the bouquet more tightly as Kuzuryuu made his way into the Komaeda’s room. He was next.

Kuzuryuu exited the room and nodded his head toward the door.

“Hinata, you’re the last one who hasn’t visited Mr. Komaeda yet,” Sonia said quietly.

 Hinata slowly got up and opened the door to the pale green door.

The room was plain with whitewashed walls and had that familiar, sour scent of aged medicine and cheap soap. The curtains were pulled aside, showing off the brilliant sunset beginning off in the horizon. Soft clicks and beeps from various monitors echoed eerily in the room, the only sounds breaking the silence looming in the air.

The patient assigned with Komaeda had suffered a severe fever and had been discharged earlier that day when they were told they had fully recovered. There were two large hospital beds placed at the left side of the room with a matching pale green curtain giving both patients their own privacy. Two large windows showed the lovely city view from outside.

Komaeda had been staring outside the window for some time, the expression on his face looking distant, as if he had gone to a whole another world. His pale face was bathed in the lovely glow of the sun, the color of ripe pumpkins. The sheets rustled quietly as Komaeda twiddled his thumbs above his blanket. He suddenly turned his face toward Hinata as Hinata accidentally made a loud noise as he stepped on a loose tile board on the floor.

Komaeda’s face lit up like a firecracker and he began to smile brightly. “Hinata!”

Komaeda sat up straighter in his bed and fixed his pajamas quickly. “I’m so glad you came.” He suddenly looked sheepish as he tilted his head downwards and scratched his cheek and said softly, “I didn’t think you’d actually come and visit me.”

“Of course I was going to visit you, eventually,” Hinata replied stiffly. He grasped the bouquet in his hand tightly till the plastic made a loud cracking noise.

Hinata walked a few paces closer to Komaeda’s bedside. He thrust the bouquet towards Komaeda’s face roughly and muttered, “These are for you.”

Komaeda’s eyes grew wider as he accepted the bouquet into his hands. “Did you pick the bouquet yourself, Hinata?”

“Yeah.”

Komaeda looked over the selection of flowers Hinata chose for the bouquet. He then brought the bouquet close to his face and sniffed them. The flowers looked as if they were gently kissing Komaeda’s face as he dipped his face into the bouquet. He looked down dreamily as a soft smile broke across his features and whispered airily, “Thank you, Hinata. I love it.”

Hinata would deny with all his soul of what happened next. He felt his heart rise to his throat and a warm, indescribable feeling burst into his chest. His cheeks began to feel unreasonably warm and he cupped his one cheek to check it was true. It grew hotter as he brushed his fingers against it. For some reason Hinata wanted this feeling to stop, but his body kept going against his wishes, his face growing hotter as he bid it to stop. The warm, odd feeling in his chest continued to spread across his inner core.

Komaeda carefully put the bouquet in one of the spare vases at his bedside table. He took the water bottle on his right and poured a reasonable amount to keep the flowers fresh. He then looked at Hinata and cocked his head slightly, “Say, Hinata, were you worried about me when all this happened to me?”

Hinata looked away and said quickly, “I knew you’d be alright in the end, so I didn’t fret about it so much.”

Komaeda’s face broke into that dreamy smile again as he laughed quietly and stated bluntly, “You really were worried about me.”

Hinata stole glances all over the hospital room, anywhere minus looking Komada directly in the eyes. His cheeks still burned and he just felt embarrassed all over. He just wished this visit could be over with so he can stop all these strange sensations happening to him.

Hinata scratched the back of his head exasperatedly as he watched the sun dip into the horizon. “Just get better quick, ok? Don’t overdue it.”

Komaeda put his hand toward his forehead in a mock salute and grinned. “Roger, Commander.”

Hinata’s face burst into flames as he bid a quick farewell to Komaeda and almost began sprinting towards the door.

Souda snored loudly on the chair outside. Sonia was reading a book about old German fairytales. Peko was humming to herself as she flipped the pages of a gaudy fashion magazine. Chiaki had a concentrated look on her face as she pressed the buttons on her PSP with fast precision no human could ever possibly muster. Kuzuryuu thumped his foot rhythmically on the tiled floor as he watched the clock on the far wall and fiddled with his phone.

Kuzuryuu looked up from his spot in his chair, put away his phone and crossed his arms. “So how’d it go?” he asked, nonplussed.

Hinata shrugged and answered, “It was better than I thought the visit would go.”

Kuzuryuu nodded. Then he looked carefully into Hinata’s face. “’Ey.”

“What?” Hinata said. “Is there something on my face?”

“Nah, it’s not something on your face, but it’s something about your face,” Kuzuryuu said, while rubbing his chin.

“What about it?” Hinata asked, touching his cheeks.

“Ya got some mighty red cheeks there, man, you ok? Didn’t contract Komaeda’s cold or something while you were in there, did you?” Kuzuryuu analyzed, looking carefully over Hinata’s features.

Hinata stiffened but answered, “I don’t think so. He looks like he’s almost well. I guess I might be feeling a little under the weather, I’ll just go back to my dorm and rest.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea, take care of yourself, ya hear me?” Kuzuryuu got up and signaled the others it was time to leave.

Sonia closed her book and gently shook Souda awake. Souda yawned and stretched as he got himself up from his seat. Peko put her magazine back in her purse and stood with Kuzuryuu. Chiaki saved her game and slinked her backpack straps to her shoulders.

“Ready to go, Hinata?” she asked.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Kuzuryuu continued looking worriedly over Hinata as they all worked back to their homes. “You sure you’re ok?”

“Totally fine,” Hinata assured. He touched his face again and sighed quietly as he felt his cheeks heat up again. Thoughts lazily flickered in Hinata’s mind as he recalled today’s events. His throat constricted nervously and he hoped this feeling would go away soon. He didn’t want to know what the feeling could be, and tried his best not to dwell on the idea as he and his friends all walked home as the first stars began twinkling in the starry canvas of the night sky. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The flowers in the bouquet Hinata gives later on are: purple lilacs, yellow roses with red tips on the petals, and almond flowers. Look them up if you want to know their meanings!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


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